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<h1 align=center><span class="pagetitle">What these sites are for</span><br>
<font size=2>= <span class="sitetitle">Index DOT Html</span> by 
<a href="email.htm">Brian Wilson</a> =</font></h1>

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     <td align=left>Index DOT Html: <font size=2>
     <a href="../html/index.html">Main Index</a> | <a href="../html/tree/htmltree.htm">Element Tree</a> |
     <a href="../html/tagindex/a.htm">Element Index</a> | <a href="../html/supportkey/a.htm">HTML Support
     History</a></font><br>
     Index DOT Css: <font size=2><a href="../css/index.html">Main Index</a> |
     <a href="../css/propindex/font.htm">Property Index</a> |
     <a href="../css/supportkey/syntax.htm">CSS Support History</a> |
     <a href="../history/browsers.htm">Browser History</a></font></td>
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<ul>
<li><a href="#whoat">Who This Site Is Aimed At</a>
<li><a href="#website">Why A Web Site?</a>
<li><a href="#htmlcovered">Index DOT Html: What Is Covered</a>
<li><a href="#csscovered">Index DOT Css: What Is Covered</a>
<li><a href="#browserwhy">Why Were These Browsers Chosen?</a>
<li><a href="#design">Design Strategy</a>
</ul>

<a name="whatis"></a>
<big><b class="mainheading">What the Site Is</b></big>
<hr width="30%" align=left>
The Index DOT Html and Css sites are meant to be repositories and references
for technical information about the HTML and CSS languages. Index DOT Html
covers the elements, attributes and the popular browsers that support them.
Index DOT Css covers CSS syntax, properties, the popular browsers that support
them, as well the zillion or so miscellaneous bits that make CSS such a
wonderful boon/headache for authors. These references are not meant to replace
any of the official references put forth by the W3C or its member companies,
it is rather meant to collect all of the far-flung resources into a single,
hopefully coherent whole.
<br><br>

<a name="whoat"></a>
<big><b class="mainheading">Who This Site Is Aimed At</b></big>
<hr width="30%" align=left>
While some of the external links provided here are good beginner's entry points
to learning HTML and CSS, the contents of this site are directed generally
toward the more experienced author. It should be fairly easy to come up to speed
quickly on the basics though.
<br><br>

<a name="website"></a>
<big><b class="mainheading">Why A Web Site?</b></big>
<hr width="30%" align=left>
The Internet in general, and the Web/HTML/CSS in particular, are fast moving
targets which change quickly. My goal is to keep up with that rapid pace of
change, in regards to the HTML and CSS languages. Compiling these references
and keeping them up to date in most <em>ANY</em> other format would be nearly
impossible. Wish me luck... All you readers out there can
<a href="email.htm">help me</a> achieve this.
<br><br>

<a name="htmlcovered"></a>
<big><b class="mainheading">Index DOT Html: What Is Covered</b></big>
<hr width="30%" align=left>
<ul>
     <li><b class="alert">Comprehensive tables of all
         <a href="../html/supportkey/a.htm">HTML elements and attributes</a> currently
         supported by Internet Explorer, Mosaic, Netscape and Opera.</b><br>
         Support in the HTML 2.0, 3.2, 4.0 and XHTML 1.0/1.1 specifications are also detailed
         (as well as HTML 3.0 features implemented in current browsers.)
         This list breaks down the HTML elements and attributes by first letter
         and details the very first version of each browser and standard where
         support began.
     <li><b class="alert">Brief overviews and histories of HTML
         <a href="../history/html20.htm">2.0</a>,
         <a href="../history/html30.htm">3.0</a>,
         <a href="../history/html32.htm">3.2</a>,
         <a href="../history/html40.htm">4.0</a>,
         <a href="../history/xhtml.htm">XHTML</a>,
         <a href="../history/css1.htm">CSS1</a> and
         <a href="../history/css2.htm">CSS2</a></b>
     <li><b class="alert"><a href="../history/browsers.htm">Summary of Browser releases</a>
         important to the support of HTML.</b><br>
         These pages detail the platforms that the browsers run on, as well as
         version release dates.
     <li><b class="alert">Side by side comparison of
         <a href="../history/ie.htm">Internet Explorer</a>,
         <a href="../history/mosaic.htm">Mosaic</a>,
         <a href="../history/netscape.htm">Netscape</a> and
         <a href="../history/opera.htm">Opera</a> release dates and versions.</b>
     <li><b class="alert"><a href="../html/tree/htmltree.htm">Tree structure</a> detailing
         all HTML elements in use today by the major browsers.</b><br>
         This tree organization loosely groups HTML elements by location in
         an actual HTML document.
     <li><b class="alert">Tag grouping overviews.</b><br>
         This part of the tree structure consists of pages giving an
         introduction to each element section topic. Also included in these pages are
         links to related sites on each HTML topic.
     <li><b class="alert"><a href="../html/tagindex/a.htm">Alphabetic element index</a> to
         all currently used HTML elements</b>
     <li><b class="alert">Tag pages for every HTML element.</b><br>
         This is <em>THE</em> biggest portion of the site. It lists everything
         you might want to know about the HTML elements in common use. I decided to
         cover all HTML 2.0, 3.2, and 4.0 elements, all XHTML 1.0 and 1.1 elements,
         browser created extensions, and only those HTML 3.0 elements in general use 
         (because 3.0 was never officially adopted.) Elements and attributes from 
         HTML 3.0 that are not in general use today (which is a large portion of 
         the draft) will be of little interest to authors unless they become supported 
         at some future date. (I hope. If I left anything out, please 
         <a href="email.htm">tell me</a>.)<br>
         In the pages for each element, you will find:<br>
         &#160;&#160;&#160;- Browser and standard support for each element<br>
         &#160;&#160;&#160;- A brief element description<br>
         &#160;&#160;&#160;- All known attributes for each element including allowed attribute values<br>
         &#160;&#160;&#160;- Element examples<br>
         &#160;&#160;&#160;- Parent/content usage models<br>
         &#160;&#160;&#160;- Tips and tricks for using the element<br>
         &#160;&#160;&#160;- Known peculiarities in the implementation of the
               element in the popular browsers.
</ul>

<a name="csscovered"></a>
<big><b class="mainheading">Index DOT Css: What Is Covered</b></big>
<hr size=1 width="30%" align=left>
<ul>
     <li><b class="alert">Comprehensive tables of all
         <a href="../css/supportkey/syntax.htm">CSS properties and values</a> currently
         supported by Internet Explorer, Netscape and Opera.</b><br>
         Support in the CSS1 and CSS2 specifications is also detailed.
         This list breaks down the CSS properties and values by category
         and details the very first version of each browser and standard where
         support began.
     <li><b class="alert">Brief overviews and histories of
         <a href="../history/css1.htm">CSS1</a> and
         <a href="../history/css2.htm">CSS2</a></b>
     <li><b class="alert"><a href="../history/browsers.htm">Summary of Browser releases</a>
         important to the development of CSS support.</b><br>
         These pages detail the platforms that the browsers run on, as well as
         version release dates.
     <li><b class="alert">Side by side comparison of
         <a href="../history/ie.htm">Internet Explorer</a>,
         <a href="../history/netscape.htm">Netscape</a> and
         <a href="../history/opera.htm">Opera</a> release dates and versions.</b>
     <li><b class="alert">Property category overviews.</b><br>
         Each of these pages gives a general overview of the properties in the category,
         and explanations of why they are lumped together. Also included in these pages
         are links to related sites on each CSS topic.
     <li><b class="alert"><a href="../css/propindex/font.htm">Category index</a> to
         all currently used and proposed CSS properties.</b>
     <li><b class="alert">Pages detailing every CSS property proposed or in use.</b><br>
         This is <em>THE</em> biggest portion of the site.<br>
         In the pages detailing each property, you will find:<br>
         &#160;&#160;&#160;- Browser and standard support for the property<br>
         &#160;&#160;&#160;- A brief description of the property<br>
         &#160;&#160;&#160;- All known property values for the property<br>
         &#160;&#160;&#160;- Property syntax, as needed (for properties utilizing any
               complex syntaxes.)<br>
         &#160;&#160;&#160;- Examples<br>
         &#160;&#160;&#160;- Special notes regarding usage, where known<br>
         &#160;&#160;&#160;- Known peculiarities in the implementation of the
               property in the popular browsers.
</ul>

<a name="browserwhy"></a>
<big><b class="mainheading">Why Were These Browsers Chosen?</b></big>
<hr width="30%" align=left>
<dl>
<dt><b class="subheading">Internet Explorer</b> (<b class="magicword">HTML/CSS</b>)
     <dd>This browser currently has the largest market share and supports
         an extremely wide range of HTML and other standards.

<dt><b class="subheading">Mosaic</b> (<b class="magicword">HTML</b>)
     <dd>This is the most historically interesting of all the reviewed browsers
         in terms of effect on the current state of the market, although it
         does not have the market share it once commanded in 1994. The sad
         news is that the 3.0 release will be the last Mosaic. This means
         that it will never support CSS and coverage of this browser in Index
         DOT Html will be mainly for historical interest.

<dt><b class="subheading">Netscape</b> (<b class="magicword">HTML/CSS</b>)
     <dd>This browser has had the largest market share for many years, although
         recently its market share has fallen off. The browser supports a wide
         range of HTML and various browser features on a wide number of platforms.
         The open-source Mozilla project which has been under development for
         quite some time, has promised to completely support all of the W3C
         HTML 4.0, XML, CSS1 and DOM specs.

<dt><b class="subheading">Opera</b> (<b class="magicword">HTML/CSS</b>)
     <dd>This browser is not based on Mosaic like the other browsers reviewed.
         Its user-base is very vocal, and growing. It has excellent support for 
         CSS1 and CSS2 and should be of interest to many authors. 
</dl>

<a name="design"></a>
<big><b class="mainheading">Design Strategy</b></big>
<hr width="30%" align=left>
The complexity inherent in presenting information about a language is
inescapable. I have tried to manage this complexity by offering several
different views on the same information, so that the readers may choose
for themselves the method of interface that works best for them.
<br><br>
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<a href="copyright.htm">Boring Copyright Stuff...</a>
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